Executive summary
There continues to be a worldwide shortage of general
practitioners in rural and remote areas, and in particular doctors
with the necessary skills and knowledge to work effectively and comfortably in
these areas. All countries have significant shortages of rural doctors, even
those developed countries which have an overall oversupply of doctors. In
addition, in less well developed countries the majority of the population is
located in rural areas, where they may lack basic health requirements such as
clean water, adequate sanitation, sufficient food and shelter, and where they
often have limited access to modern medical services.
Rural people represent the majority of the world’s
population and universally have poorer health status than urban people. Often
the health status of special needs groups is worse in rural than metropolitan
areas. These include the poor, the elderly, women and indigenous people.
Despite this, rural health services command proportionally fewer resources and
fewer staff than urban health services in almost every country in the
world.
While the health of rural people is affected by social,
cultural and economic factors, the major detriment comes from the lack of
resources, and poverty.
This Policy on Rural Practice and Rural Health
contains strategies to assist governments and professional bodies to ensure that
real progress is made toward the goal of improving the health of rural people.
These strategies were developed over the six year period following the
establishment of the WONCA Working Party on Rural Practice in 1992. The
strategies have been used in many countries and the experiences derived have
been presented at international rural health conferences. They have been
considered in depth at these fora and the strategies largely reflect the
recommendations of these conferences. It is envisaged that these will be refined
following further implementation.
WONCA endorses the following Policy and Recommendations
to improve rural health.